Cyprus has emerged as a serious contender in the world of international investment, putting a conference in Limassol next week in a unique position to promote the island as a regional headquartering centre...

Another former trustee of the defunct Cyprus Cooperative Bank speaks out, describing a world of chaos at the financial institution where lack of expertise, political pressure, and wrongdoing ruled the day
...

A Turkish Cypriot top official has accused the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Cyprus of unfairly targeting the shipping industry and universities in the north at a time when there are calls for better relations between the two communities...

The Greek government will have to collect additional tax revenues of 4.7 billion euros in the first post-bailout period of enhanced supervision (2018-2022) by its creditors, in order to achieve the agreed primary surpluses and record surpluses....

We are caught between celebrations over Greece’s “clean exit” from the bailout programs on one hand and, on the other, allegations that the country has effectively signed up to what can be considered a “fourth memorandum” and is headed to economic disaster....

Greece’s bailout exit has been eliciting condescending and bitter commentary on the country’s beaches and in its near-deserted cities, as few Greeks believes their lives are going to improve or that the country’s prospects will be akin to those of other bailed-out eurozone states. Greece’s “return to normalcy” and “clean exit,” much touted by the government, appear to be happening somewhere else....

There is a clear plan A for Cyprus, that of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation solution, and there is no plan B, UK High Commissioner in Nicosia, Stephen Lillie, has told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), stressing that “for plan A to succeed the negotiations need to be well prepared, and the public opinion needs to be well prepared” as well....

Greece will be monitored more closely by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the other institutions after its bailout ends six days from now compared to other countries that emerged from rescue programs, according to ESM chief Klaus Regling....

A lot has been said about the mistakes made by Greece’s lenders during the bailout programs. The fact is they made many errors, including some serious ones. Meanwhile, Greek politicians were responsible for refusing to take ownership of the required reforms and failing to reach a degree of basic consensus. ...

A growth rate of 1.9 percent is way too small for a country like Greece, especially as the rest of Europe’s performance is so much more robust. This is, after all, a country that shed 25 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in the course of a decade. What we should be seeing, therefore, is the effect of a tightly wound spring, whereby a virtuous cycle of growth begins and only gets faster with time. Instead, we’re hobbling along at 1.9 percent, the slowest rate an economy can achieve after hitting rock bottom....

Rating Agency Moody’s has described the sale of Bank of Cyprus UK as credit positive, noting that the sale would place Bank of Cyprus in a better position to focus on reducing its domestic high stock of problematic loans...

President Nicos Anastasiades praised the ruling and opposition parties for approving state guarantees for Hellenic Bank as well as passing new foreclosure and bankruptcy laws, adding he would not respond to criticism...

The distinction between responsible and irresponsible borrowers is at the forefront of heated debate this week, with Presidential Palace and Parliament scrambling to strike balance ahead of a crucial vote...

Commenting on the debt deal for Greece secured at the Eurogroup summit early on Friday, conservative New Democracy said that agreement could have been achieved in 2015 if Alexis Tsipras, then opposition leader, had not been "peddling his delusions on the backs of Greek citizens."...